No Reserve, No Retreats, No Regrets
His name was Bill Borden. He had been born into a wealthy family. After he graduated from high school in 1904, he felt a need to help the poor people of the world. He surrendered his life to Christ and decided to become a missionary. A friend of his told him that he would be wasting his life as a missionary. In response, Bill wrote two words in the back of his Bible. The two words were, “No Reserve.”
As Bill prepared to be a missionary he entered Yale University. While in college, he spent his spare time ministering to those around him. In his journal, he wrote that his philosophy for life was simply to “say no to self and yes to Jesus every time!” After he graduated from Yale, Bill received many high-paying job offers, no one would have blamed him for taking one of these jobs. However, at this time he wrote two more words in the back of his Bible they were “No Retreats”.
Bill Borden was a millionaire but he realized that his responsibility was to be about the Father’s business. His missionary call was to minister to the Muslim Kansu people in China. Bill planned to spend time in Egypt learning the Muslim language before going on to China. But he never made it to the mission field. Shortly after arriving in Egypt, he contracted Spinal Meningitis. In less than a month he was dead. Shortly before he died William Borden wrote two more words in the back of his Bible these words were, “No Regrets”.
Was Bill Borden’s life wasted? You know, if only he had stayed in the States, with his money and talents maybe he could have done great things for the Kingdom of God. But that was not God’s plan. When his story was told it is said that many hundreds of people were inspired to surrender to be a missionary . Because of this, more people were reached for Christ than Bill could ever have reached himself.
The Bible tells us that God’s plans are greater than our plans and His ways are greater than our ways. Bill Borden knew that obedience to God is the only way to be truly successful. His story is a challenge for us to surrender to God with no reserves, to follow Jesus with no retreats, and to live in obedience to the Holy Spirit with no regrets.
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.””
Luke 9:23-27 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.9.23-27.NKJV
Douglas &Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
email- douglas@pavementendsministry.com
My daughter Kate has written her first book. Follow her progress and help her get it published. Visit her website and sign up for her newsletter at www.kateoliviahuff.com
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 NKJV
